"You kid! You dare!" The messenger shouted extending his hand to slap Ivar. But Ivar threw off his hands and quickly ran away passing through the wooden door just before the door closed behind him!
Ivar knew he had made a grave mistake in the heat of the movement! He rarely loses his emotional control but this was too much for the current him! After all, he was just a 15-year-old child who was already crushed by the expectations of others and himself to become someone strong just because of his flashy appearance.
This was the result of the expectation that cooked him from the inside for 15 years! If he did have a good or even decent fate this wouldn't have happened but alas! Fate simply didn't favor Ivar.
Ivar looked at the metal gate in front of him and decided to climb it!
Shing-
A sharp sound of swords scraping each other was heard behind him. He turned behind him just to see the seven real swords on the roof levitating and pointing at Ivar. Ivar got scared and started to climb faster.
Swish-
One of the swords moved rapidly and barely missed Ivar's calves as it got stuck on the giant logo in the gate.
"That was dangerous." Ivar was shaking. This was his first time seeing levitating swords!
Without thinking much Ivar started running towards the villages. As Ivar glanced at the six swords, a look of horror engulfed his face! The swords were actually starting to catch up!
He ran even faster but to no avail! The swords were getting near him. But just as the swords were about to pierce him they slowed down!
'The distance! Looks like that old man can't control the sword for long distances! At least not precisely!'
Ivar continued running, the swords still following him. Ivar knew that if he let the swords catch him he was going to be at best crippled and at worst dead. And his family was also going to be punished probably. In this state, Ivar couldn't show his face to his family.
Ivar suddenly remembered the merchant caravan leaving in a while. Ivar ran towards the center of the villages, passing through a neighboring village.
'How do these swords even see me? Maybe the swords work like the eyes of a bird? If I can hide from them then I might be able to keep them off me.'
Ivar quickly saw a fruit stall on the side of the road and hid behind it.
'Good they shouldn't be able to see me now! The swords were already slower than me now they should be far away from them to see me hiding especially in this crowd of people.''
The shopkeeper seeing Ivar asked "Oh isn't it Ivar? How is your father? Haven't talked to him in a long-"
Just as the shopkeeper was asking Ivar the question, Ivar saw the swords approaching through the gaps in the wood. Ivar immediately fled and ran through the gaps between shops and hid behind the house.
He peeked at the sky just to find the swords randomly flying in different directions.
Meanwhile, back in Messenger's adobe, The messenger who had already restrained the family with golden glowing chains thought, "Did that kid realize the surveillance method? No. I can't let him escape. Throughout 200 years of my duty, no one has ever defied me! I must kill the kid and hide this from the grand messenger!"
The messenger frowned with closed eyes but his expression instantly easened!
Back at the Ivar's hiding place. Ivar heard a man with a rough voice.
"Hey, boy. What are you doin' here?" Ivar looked back just to see a drunk homeless man getting up from the mud-riddled ground.
Ivar ignored him, looking at how weak the man was, and started to survey his surroundings once again. But the sight of six swords, once again moving rapidly towards him, shocked him!
'Oh no. He found me! But how? Well, no time for questions. I got to run!'
Ivar ran away leaving the homeless man behind.
"Hey, boy! Are you ignoring me? You don't know who I am?"
Ivar once again merged with the bustling street near the soon-leaving merchant caravan. He was surveying for someone.
He looked back at the sword and they were still pursuing him! He again fastened his search. After moving into the packed merchant caravan for a while, Ivar's eyes lit up as he found who he was looking for!
"Uncle Johan! Here!" Ivar screamed to a man wearing orangeish clothes. The man had scars on his face and he was missing an arm!
"Hello, Ivar! Where is Ivan? Also, isn't today that day? Why are you here?" Johan's temperament had changed over the years and he had become more … polite.
Ivar couldn't put it in words properly but, after leaving the village to become a merchant in the capital city he had become more … serious?
"Yes, Uncle. Today is the day and I got tested to become a merchant. So father sent me to become a merchant and learn from you." Ivar said while climbing the shabby-looking horse running "carriage". It was made out of wood and it had a big piece of cloth to cover the top for sunlight!
"Hoh? Is that right? Then very well. I will teach you. Hop into the carriage. We will be leaving Now. Ivan asked me to take you with me in case you could be a merchant looks like he was right." Johan smiled softly.
'That thing isn't changing after me! So it looks like I was right! The way It was finding my location was through the eyes of people! More specifically, the eyes of people of the three villages or of those who live here.' Ivar hand made an educated guess which paid off and saved his life. His whole body was riddled with sweat.
Seeing the sweaty Ivar, Johan gave him a towel. "Have this. Clean off all your sweat."
"Thanks."
Ivar was still thinking of the swords. If the messenger could see through the eyes of the people of three villages then why couldn't he see through the eyes of Ivar and directly locate him?
He guessed the answer to be Time!
Ivar was sure that with time the old man would have been able to see through his eyes too! The homeless man in the alleyway looked to be in his mid-20s. So Ivar guessed that as long as he stayed in this village for 20 years straight or maybe stayed here semi-permanently then he would have his eyes compromised too!
This fact scared Ivar! That means every adult in this village has had their eyes compromised!
The messenger has got eyes everywhere!
Ivar looked a Johan. 'That old man can't see through his eyes probably because he hasn't been in this village since that incident. His wife was already dead and then his son died. He almost permanently left the village after that incident.
After a while, a driver sat on the front and started driving the wooden carriage with two horses.
"Ivar we will reach a city called Oraburg in two weeks. I have just started setting up the branch for my business there. So I need to manage that for a while. On the way there, I will teach you about the way of merchant." Ivar nodded. He had a long life ahead of him.